Am i underestimating Taekwondo? what is so good about it?

[crazyjoe380]

is TKD and hapkido good to take??? why?? what is it ?? how is it good for me?? i just dont see any good in tkd.. someone explain the benifits.. even the littles things..

[Mr. Miyagi]

ah, your questions.

No and No.
Because you will pay for lessons, learn bullsheet that doesn't work, and see little kids with black belts.
They are Korean martial arts, and the instructors in America are so watered down it's riduculous.
It's not good for you. It gives you a false sense of security, which is very dangerous. Countless TKD blackbelts have thought they could "take care" of a situation and gotten their ass kicked.

Some people argue that if you take anything from a bad school then it's not good, this is not related to TKD. But you know, no matter where you take bjj or muy thai, you will learn and get better. Why should TKD get special treatment in that regard? And that fool in Black Belt Magazine, Han Woong Kim, showing off such ridiculous Hapkido crap that wouldn't even work on someone half dead. I remember he had some techniques that you could use using a belt, and he claimed that these were taught only to advanced black belts. LOL at that, you had better be pretty god damn advanced to be able to blindfold a living breathing assailant with a belt before he beats the $hit out of you! I'd fight this stupid Mr. Kim any day of the week; it'd be a much better bet than picking a fight with a burly Irish guy in a pub.

[JaredExtreme]

The only advantage TKD has is that you'll be training with a lot of chicks.

[Bau13]

being a black belt in TKD... ( i was 12 when I got it...hahaha)

I have to stand up for my original art!

Look.. first off its always down to the individual and not the art..

TKD does have SOME good points ..

Like any other martial art tkd guys do all their conditioning work and work just as hard as everyone else e.g. pushups, situps,cardio etc.. so there, you have one thing ... fitness

Another thing you can add on to that is flexibility... alot of emphasis on high kicks so you will do ALOT of stretching to gain that flexibility.. flexibility is important in ANY martial art you chose

last but not least... the kicks!

TKD is all about the kicks... yeah they may not be as powerful as the MT kick ( as i learned later on in a MT class!) but they are fast and accurate... lotsa guys think tkd kicks are all spinning little pretty things that cant hurt a fly... wrong... people fear the MT round kick... well you should also fear the TKD round kick and side kick.... done properly.. those kicks can hurt you bad...plus a good tkd guy can throw them FAST AND HARD...
so yeah with that kinda training you will gain flexibilty and quickness...speed with your kicks...enough practice and you will have awesome kicking ability....
after alot of tkd sparring you also learn to read kicks better...see them coming

I switched to muay thai cos I saw the weaknesses in TKD but I have to say my TKD training was useful in helping me to progress in Muay Thai VERY quickly... cos of the attributes I gained from the TKD..

In the end its all about what youre chosing the art for!..
If its just for fitness and sport reasons...go ahead and take tkd!

If its for real life self defence (real fighting)... um... choose something else..just remember... NO SINGLE ART IS COMPLETE
cross training is the key...

theres a bunch of bad stuff about tkd that most of y'all know about(you know... VERY limited punching etc) but you asked for the good points so i wont bother writing anymore...

[Ice Phoenix]

Bau13, in other words what you were really struggling to communicate with us was, TKD SUX!!! Amen.

[The only advantage TKD has is that you'll be training with a lot of chicks.]

True, but you don't get to do much with them. Not like rolling with a cute chick in BJJ and having to resist a hard-on when she pulls you in close between her legs in closed guard.

You grapple with baby chickens? And they give you a hard on?

Either that or you need to learn to have a little more respect for women.

My guess is both.

[Ice Phoenix]

Originally posted by Bri Thai
You grapple with baby chickens? And they give you a hard on?

Either that or you need to learn to have a little more respect for women.

My guess is both.

It was JaredExtreme who first refered to females as "chicks", not me! To our generation a babe is a chick is a girl is a... why not? They're warm, cuddly, cute, sweet, and precious. It should be an honor for females to be associated with such an animal, rather than us male... pigs, eh!

[ceasarx]

I dont personaly like tkd but I am a fan of hapkido. If it was taught right it is very lethal. unfortunatley I have seen only two teachers that taught it right and one is dead.

[Bau13]

hey ice...

I dont think TKD sucks at all actually...

some could say BJJ sucks cos it doesnt have striking....

EVERY art has some good and bad things about them...

thats why I cross train

[ceasarx]

The Jui Jitsu system I learn teaches strikes and grappleing and throws and ext... Cross training is good but it isnt always needed

[Mr. Miyagi]

With bjj or judo, if someone has a black belt, there is no disputing that they are an expert at what they do. In TKD, all this bs comes in but isn't it a poor testimony to the art that anyone can have a black belt? How come there aren't bjj black belts that are charlatans the way there are in TKD?
There is no point in taking TKD as there are so many better arts out there.

[Szczepankiewicz]

I would agree with Miyagi-san. You can't through a stick in the Boise area without hitting a Shodan in TKD.... kind of like a degree in general studies as compared to a degree in Nuclear Physics. Yeah, the're both degrees, but......

Spanky

[jmd161]

What most of you have seen in the U.S. is sport TKD just like a lot of karate schools here teach sport karate.

Most people confuse Wu Shu with Kung Fu.

Although Wu Shu means "War Art" what most americans know as Wu Shu is dance and pretty moves not combat techniques.

There is a difference.
The problem is most americans don't wanna work that hard and want to earn a black belt in 2yrs.So sport TKD,Wu Shu,and Sport Karate are all over america.Quick fix for a quick fix nation.Then you top it off with tag style fighting tournaments and you have people thinking they can fight in the real world and they've never been hit.

What they get is a rude "Wake Up" call in the real fight world.

But back to the question " Yes You Are "

Even though real Tkd has limited hand techniques ,but no one i repeat "No One" can out kick them.There might be styles that develope their legs better Muay Tai,Hung Gar,Black Tiger,Choy Lay Fut,Hung Fut.Etc.........

But none will out kick them.That's like asking a yugo to race a Indy car.Yeah there both cars,but one was made to race the other just to get you from point a to b maybe?????????? lol

Moral of this post?

You underestimate anybody or style and even Tae Bo will hurt you very bad if applied with force and technique.

jmd161

P.S. Never underestimate your opponet even if you've defeated him in the past countless times.To be over- confident is to be blind to reality,And that can get you killed my friend.

[Mr. Miyagi]

"most Americans don't want to work hard and want to earn a black belt in two years"

Now if this is true then why don't the bjj and judo instructors also conform to this American desire and start giving out black belts in two years?

[jmd161]

In Bjj, Judo, and some other grappling arts i'ts different.

You have to train using your techniques.So if everyone is using your techniques and getting their a$$ kicked how long will you be around making money?

Answer=" Not Long"

Also...........If you notice not everyone who starts a style sticks around.I said most not all maybe most is an overstatment ,but i think you know what i mean.

I don't know what style you study but i'm sure you see people all the time that can't handle the training.Not that they can't handle it ,but they thought self defense was going to be a lot easier.Not everyone is willing to work very hard for what most see as just a work out.A lot of people actually start martial arts just to try and get fit.

I study a style of kung fu that 98% of the people who come the first day don't show up ever again.And all the first day has is stance training and basic wrist techniques.Just about everyone thinks my Sifu is too hard on them.Just because your arms or legs get's tired does'nt mean he's going to give you a break.He keeps on you not giving an inch.It does'nt matter if you're new to martial arts or a 20yr vet.

How many people want to go thru the leg training that muay thai, black tiger or hung gar has ?

Answer= "Not Many"

Not many people can see them self's kicking a tree with their shins.Not many people are willing to beat their arms against iron bars either.That's why when most people see our training they leave right away.We hear people say all the time that this is not ancient china so why train that hard.

Easy i'ts not ancient china true ,but i'ts modern america so do you think we need to train any less than people of ancient times.

Answer=" NO!!!!!!!!! " we need to train much harder today. I know i've got off the post a bit but those were some points i had to make.

I can't speak much for Bjj schools because i don't know much about them ,but it does happen at judo schools,kung fu ,karate,and many other schools.Want a sign look for a school with a lot of kids around ,and count all the jr black belts you see.10 and 12 yr old black belts.

I think you get the picture.

jmd161